Proximal and Distal Adjustments of Reaching Behavior in Preterm Infants

Abstract

The authors aimed to investigate proximal and distal adjustments of reaching behavior and grasping in 5-, 6-, and 7-month-old preterm infants. Nine low-risk preterm and 10 full-term infants participated. Both groups showed the predominance of unimanual reaching, an age-related increase in the frequency of vertical-oriented and open hand movement, and also an increase in successful grasping from 6 to 7 months. The frequency of open hand was higher in the preterm group at 6 months. Intrinsic restrictions imposed by prematurity did not seem to have impaired reaching performance of preterm infants throughout the months of age.

Keywords:

• distal adjustment
• preterm infants
• proximal adjustment
• reaching

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the parents and infants for their participation in the study. They would also like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions that improved the quality of our initial manuscript. The first author was supported by the Foundation for the Coordination of Higher Education and Graduate Training (CAPES), Brazil. This study was funded by the Foundation for Supporting Research of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil.